Internal-combustion engine.



A. E. OSBORN.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED 05c. 29. I914.

1,212,391. Patented Jan. 16,1917.

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i INVENTOR W 14 244 /a 1rQ BY ATTORNFY A. E. OSBURN.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 29.19I4.

Patented Jan. 16,1917.

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INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 16, 1917.

Application filed December 29, 1914. Serial No. 879,589.

T 0 all whom it may concern: i

Be it known that I, ALDEN E. OsnonN, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forminfia part thereof.

y invention relates to internal combus- 'tion engines and one of the objects is to provide a four-cycle engine of this type, that shall be simple and compact in construction and efiicient and powerful in operation.

A further object is to provide an improved valve construction which shall permit of a particularl advanta eous arrange which s all 006 crate with the main piston in opening and c osing the ports.

Another object is to provide an engine having a main working piston and a piston valve arranged to not only cooperate with the main piston in controlling the ports, but also to serve as an auxiliary power piston materially increase the economy of the engine. 7

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be set forth hereinafter, and in order that m invention may be thoroughly understood will now proceed to describe the same in the followin specification and then point out the novel atures thereof in up nded claims.

n my Patents Nos. 985,198; 987,164 and 1,011,480 and in my copending applications Serial No. 871,865 filed November 13, 1914, and Serial No. 878,853 filed December 24, 1914 I have shown and described valve mechanisms each comprisin a main valve arranged to successively estalish communication between the combustion chamber and two gas passages, and a secondary or auxil iary valve controlling one of the aforesaid passages in addition to the main valve. Ac-

cording to my present invention I employ two separate main valves (of which one is the engine piston) arranged to control the opening of two distinct passages into communication with the combustion chamber of the engine and an auxiliary valve which controls one of the aforesaid passages in addition to one of the mam valves. For the sake of simplicity in the engine structure the main lston of the engine, in addition to its usua function, is arranged to act as one of the main valves and controls one of the passages from the combustion chamber. Furthermore, the second valve member provlded, controls not only the other main passage but also has the function of an auxiliary valve with reference to the assage controlled by the engine piston. y means of my present invention 1. therefore retain the advantages of my previous patents and applications above referred to as far as the valve functioning is concerned and at the same time obtain a very material advantage of simplicity in construction.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a. sectional c ovation of an engine having a piston valve, arranged and constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a portion of a modlfied engine which is provided with a sleeve valve and which also embodies my invention. A view corresponding to Fig. 2 of another modification of my inventlon in which a. different form of valve is employed, is shown in Fig. 3.

Having special reference to Fi .1, the engine here shown comprises n cy uider 10 in which operates a piston 11, a crank shaft 12, a crank 13 which is connected to the 'piston by av rod 14, a crank casing 15, a valve cylinder 16 and a piston valve 17 therein. The piston valve is reciprocated at one-half the speed of the main piston by means of a valve crank 18 which is connected to the crank shaft 20 which is operatively connected by sprocket wheels 21 and a chain 21 or.

ot er suitable means, to the main crank shaft 12. The valve cylinder 16 communicates directly with the combustion chamber 22 of the main cylinder 10 at its outer end. There is, furthermore, a communicating passage between the two cylinders at a material distance from the combustion chamber as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The engine is provided with an exhaust port 24: and an admission port 25. The exhaust port is located nearer the end of the valve cylinder and is uncovered in a predetermined valve position so as to communicatc directly with the combustion chamber.

The piston valve is provided with atranse verse passage 26 shown in dotted lines, which is adapted to establish communication between the admission port 25 and the passage 23 through which the fresh charge is admitted to the main cylinder during the latter part of the suction stroke.

The engine is shown as provided with the usual water-jacket 27 and the pistons have the usual rings 28 and 29.

Attention is particularly directed to the fact that the engine is very simple in construction, comprises a relatively few parts and does not require special auxiliary, admission or exhaust valves. This simplicity in construction is attained by the particularly advantageous arrangement of ports whereby the main piston 11 cooperates with the piston valve in governing the admission port, as will be clearly understood from the description of the operation of the device in the following paragraphs.

Assuming that the parts occupy the positions in which they are shown in the drawings, that a compressed charge has just been fired and that the piston valve is reciprocating at one-half the speed of the main piston; the main piston will first move outwardly through its working stroke and the piston valve will advance in the same time a distance corresponding to a ninety degree movement of the crank 18. When the main piston moves through about one-half of its working stroke, it uncovers the passage 23 but this port is previously covered by the piston valve which in the same time has advanced a distance corresponding to about a forty-five degree movement of the crank 18. The next stroke of the main piston is the exhaust stroke and duringthis stroke the piston moves a distance corresponding to another quarter turn of the valve crank. The arrangement of parts is such that the exhaust port is open at the beginning of the stroke, the burnt gases forced out, and the exhaust port again covered. During the suction stroke of the piston which is next, the valve crank advances another quarter turn and the piston valve occupies a position approximately as shown in Fig. l but is moving in the opposite direction toward the inner end of its stroke. The passage 23 is thus connected to the admission port 525. The fuel will then pass into the cylinder through this passage, there being of course a partial vacuum formed in the combustion chamber during the first part of the suction stroke until the piston has advanced sufficiently to uncover the passage 23. The fuel is supplied in the usual way through the remainder of the stroke. During the beginning of the compression stroke the admission port 23 is open but is soon closed by the piston'valve which is moving over its inner center. Later in this stroke the main piston covers this port and consequently the fuel is prevented from being forced out into the carburetor when the piston valve again opens the passage.

My invention is applicable to an engine having a sleeve valve of the type shown and described in my copending application Serial No. 878,853 filed December 24, 1914 and reference may now be had to Fig. 2 of the drawings, in which my invention is illustrated in this connection. The engine here shown comprises a piston 30, which is surrounded by a sleeve valve 31 and is connected to the crank shaft 32 by a crank 33 and a connecting rod 34. The sleeve valve has a lateral projection 35 at its outer end which is connected to a valve crank shaft 36 by a. valve crank 37 and a connectin rod 38. The shafts 3:2 and 36 are conneete by gears 39. The cylinder of the engine comprises a, body 10, an end member 41, and a pair of interposed hollow annular members 12 and 43 in which the exhaust port 14 and admission port 45 are respectively located.

The parts of the cylinder are fitted together and certain of them are provided with annular notches so as to provide pockets or grooves 45, 46 and +7 in which packing rings 48, 49 and 50 are located. The arrangement of parts is such that the ring 49 is interposed between the members 42 and 43 and between the exhaust and inlet passages. In this respect they correspond to the arrangement set forth in my copendmg application, to which reference has already been made. As explained in detail hereinafter. the exhaust port H and the annular passage with which it communicates, are uncovered during the exhaust stroke on account of the displacement of the sleeve valve. On the other hand, the admission port and the passage with which it communicates are opened into the cylinder through a. plurality of radial openings 51 in the valve sleeve, the same being displaced to uncover the openings.

Attention is particularly directed to the fact that this engine is compact, while at the same time. the area of each of the admission and exhaust ports is relatively large and opens into the cylinder on all sides through the annular passages. The sleeve valve during the first part of the compression stroke starts to move over its inner center and closes the admission port independently of the piston which closes the port during the last part of this stroke and further prevents gas from being forced back into the carbnreter;

The adaptation of my invention to an engine having a relatively long valve sleeve r' well known type. is shown in Fig. 3. '1 his arrangement differs from that of Fig. 2 in that the sleeve valve is provided with a passage.55, which registers with the exhaust port during the exhaust stroke. In

other respects this arrangement corresponds to that of Fig. 2 as far as the general arrangement and location of ports is concerned. The arrangement of annular passages similar to that shown in Fig. 2., may be employed in the structure of i 3, if desired. Corresponding parts in this figure are designated by the same reference characters as those shown in Fig. 2 and further description of this structure or its operation is believed to be luinecessary.

Attention is particularly directed to certain distinguishing features and particular advantages of my invention as follows: The inlet passage opens into the cylinder at an intermediate point in the stroke of the pis ton and the valve is arranged to close the inlet passage independently of the piston.

Consequently the pressure of the explosion continues to do active work upon the piston, after the inlet passage has been uncovered by the main piston. Furthermore, the piston moves only part way out on the suction stroke before the inlet passage is open, thereby producing only a small vacuum which is an advantage. The piston has a material distance to move after the inlet passage is open before the completion of the suction stroke, thus allowing time for a larger volume of gas to enter the cylinder.

Furthermore, there is a material gain in compression because the slide valve closes the inlet passage and the cylinder on the com )ression stroke considerably in advance of the covering of the passage by the main piston.

In other words. I secure in an engine which is particularly simple in construction, the advantages which have hitherto only been obtained by the use of a far more complicated structure.

Other modifications may be effected with out departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I intend that only such limitations be imposed as are indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim is: 1 1. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder having a combustion chamber at one end, a piston, an admission passage opening into the cylinder at an intermediate point in the piston stroke, a valve, and means for actuating the valve to open the admission pass'a in conjunction with the piston during tie suction stroke and to close the admission passage independently of the piston at the end of the suction stroke.

2. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder, a piston, an admission passage at an intermediate point in the stroke of the piston, a. combustion chamber, an exhaust port opening intothe combustion chamber, a valve, and nieans for actuat ing the valve to independently control the exhaust port, to open the admission passage in conjunction with the piston during 1: e suction stroke and to close said passage independcntly of the piston at the end of the suction stroke.

3. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder having a combustion chamber at one end, a piston, an admission passage opening into the cylinder at an intermediate point in the piston stroke, an exhaust port, a piston valve, and means for operating the piston valve at one-half the speed of the main piston to independently control the exhaust port to gpen t e admis sion passage in conjunction with the main piston during the suction stroke and to close said passage at the end of said suction stroke independently of the piston.

4. An internal combustion engine comprising a pair of parallel cylinders, a driven shaft, a piston in one of said cylinders op eratively connected to the shaft, :1 piston in the other cylinder adapted to reciprocate at one-half the speed of the first piston, an admission port, an exhaust port opening into the cylinder of the slow-moving piston at a point intermediate the stroke of said piston, and a passage between the cylinders beyond which the fast moving piston travels, and means for operatively connecting the slowmoving piston to the shaft, whereby said slow-moving piston is arranged to close said passage at the end of the suction stroke before it is covered by the fast;moving piston.

5. An internal combustion engine comprising a main cylinder, a valve cylinder adj acent thereto and communicating therewith at one end, a passa e between the-two cylinders intermediate t eir ends, a main piston in the main cylinder, a piston valve in the valve cylinder connected to reciprocate at one-half the speed of the main piston, an exhaust passage openin into the valve cylinder and adapted to e uncovered when the .iston valve is at the outer end of its stro e,un admission port opening into the valve cylinder, at an intermediate point in the piston stroke, said valve piston being provided with a transverse passage to establish communication between the admis* sion port and the passa e between cylinders during the suction stro e and to close said passage independently of the main piston at the end of the suction stroke.

6. An internal combustion engine comprising a. cylinder havin a combustion chamber, a. passage extendm through the cylinder wall at an intermediate point in t e piston stroke, and a second passage into the chamber independently of the cylinder, a piston in said cylinder controlling the cylinder passage,'a valve controlling both of said passages, and means for actuating the valve, arranged to retain the pressure of combustion in the cylinder whereby it continues to act upon the piston after the cylinder passage has been uncovered by the piston.

7. An internal combustion engine comprising a piston, a, cylinder havin two independent ports communicating tierewith, one of which is at an intermediate point in the piston stroke, a valve and means for actuating the valve to open said intermediate port in conjunction with the piston during one stroke of the engine and to close said intermediate port independently of the piston at the end of the same stroke.

the pistonstroke, a, valve adapted to govern both of said ports, and means for actuating the valve to close the port while it is uncovered by the piston during one outward stroke of the piston, to uncover said port so that it is opened by the piston during the next outward piston stroke, and to close the port before it is again covered 'by the piston to close the cylinder during the following instroke of the piston.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of December, 1914, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALDEN E. OSBORN. Witnesses:

R. J. DEARBORN, F. GRAVES. 

